Network interface devices (NIDs) include devices used for interfacing customer premises equipment (CPE) to a network, such as an Ethernet network. Multiple NIDs in a given network may be configured in a “master” and “client” service topology, where a selected NID acts as a “master” NID which sends data traffic to the “client” NIDs that it serves, and vice versa.
A network management system (NMS) may perform network management activities related to the operation, administration, maintenance and provisioning of a network that includes the Ethernet. The network management functions performed by the NMS may include, for example, controlling, planning, allocating, deploying, coordinating and monitoring the resources of a network. The network management functions may further include network planning, predetermined traffic routing to support load balancing, cryptographic key distribution authorization, configuration management, fault management, security management, performance management, bandwidth management and/or accounting management. To perform one or more of these network management functions, the NMS may send NID management traffic to the NIDs of the network.
In the Ethernet network, NIDs are managed using a dedicated VLAN overlayed over the Ethernet network. Each NID can access this VLAN and send and receive the management traffic over it to and from the NMS. In this typical NID management arrangement, the management traffic to and from the NMS is flowing directly between each NID and the NMS. This arrangement, however, requires a direct management channel to each NID from the NMS. In networks (e.g., multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) networks with pseudowires (PWs)) where the NIDs terminating Ethernet transport are connected over peer-to-peer (P2P) circuits, such as emulated PWs, the fact that each NID must be accessed directly from the NMS requires that a separate channel be open between the NMS and each NID. To satisfy this requirement, a management overlay must be created over such a network, adding additional complexity to the network and extra cost to deployment of the network.